Rocket Tower's Fate May Be Auction Block

CAPE CANAVERAL — The rocket tower used in the first launch of a United States satellite will be offered at public auction next year unless a federal or state agency claims it, Air Force officials say.

If no one wants the 110-foot tower, it will be dismantled at a cost of about $75,000 and sold for scrap, said Patrick Air Force Base spokeswoman Capt. Linda Leong.

The tower was erected at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station a year before Explorer I roared off Launch Complex 26 on Jan. 31, 1958. It was declared a national historic landmark in 1984, but time and salt air have made the tower so rusty it is a hazard that could topple any time, officials say.

The Congressional Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in Washington earlier this year granted the Air Force a permit to demolish the tower. Air Force officials said a required environmental impact assessment concluded last week that tearing down and removing the tower will not harm the natural environment around the complex.

Leong said the tower will be offered to federal and state agencies. If none respond, the public will be able to bid on the tower. She estimated it will take at least four months for all agencies to consider the tower and a few more months before an auction could be held.

Several veterans groups said earlier this year they wanted to save the tower, but those plans never materialized.

The tower has not been used since 1963 when a NATO training program put it into service. In 1966 the Air Force converted two launch pads, a blockhouse and outbuildings at Launch Complex 26 into its space museum, but the tower was not included in the project. A fence was erected around the tower a few years ago to protect tourists from falling debris.